Scenes from Black Friday shopping in Maryland [Pictures]

Denise Henderson

Baltimore Sun photo by Kenneth K. Lam

For Denise Henderson of East Baltimore, Black Friday is all about tradition. For years, she shopped on Black Friday with her aunt. Henderson said her aunt died last year, and now, "to me it's a memorial to her," she said while buying toys for her grandchildren at Target early Friday. She and her daughter, Kiara Moore, had filled two carts full of toys, including half a dozen board games for family night. She planned to continue the day's shopping at Walmart and then Old Navy. The Thanksgiving night openings did not tempt her to get an earlier start. "I didn't feel like that was appropriate," she said. "I stayed with my family." --Lorraine Mirabella

For Denise Henderson of East Baltimore, Black Friday is all about tradition. For years, she shopped on Black Friday with her aunt. Henderson said her aunt died last year, and now, "to me it's a memorial to her," she said while buying toys for her grandchildren at Target early Friday. She and her daughter, Kiara Moore, had filled two carts full of toys, including half a dozen board games for family night. She planned to continue the day's shopping at Walmart and then Old Navy. The Thanksgiving night openings did not tempt her to get an earlier start. "I didn't feel like that was appropriate," she said. "I stayed with my family." --Lorraine Mirabella (Baltimore Sun photo by Kenneth K. Lam)

Jenny Conrad and her daughters, who are hosting an exchange student from China, wanted to give the teenager the full American holiday experience. So at 6 a.m. on Black Friday, the family, two of the daughters' friends and a second Chinese exchange student - all students at Saint Paul's School For Girls - piled into the Conrads' van and headed to Target to shop. "They don't celebrate Christmas in China; it's all new to her," Jenny Conrad said, noting that the student, Poppy Shen, was amazed at the size of the family's Thanksgiving turkey. Shen was curious about where the term "Black Friday" came from. "Is is because people have to go out in the dark to shop?" the 15-year-old asked. While the girls joked around and found some bargains, Shen missed out on the typical Black Friday craziness. By early morning at Target, the long lines of the previous night were gone and shoppers strolled the aisles at a leisurely pace. That was fine with the group. "We wanted to give them the experience of what happens - but not too crazy," said Quinn Conrad, 15, a sophomore. "We're not the super adventurous ones," said Ada Hinton, also a Saint Paul's sophomore. But still, the mall, and the possibility of slightly more hustle and bustle, awaited. "There are things you don't need at the moment, but it's on sale," Quinn Conrad said. --Lorraine Mirabella

Jenny Conrad and her daughters, who are hosting an exchange student from China, wanted to give the teenager the full American holiday experience. So at 6 a.m. on Black Friday, the family, two of the daughters' friends and a second Chinese exchange student - all students at Saint Paul's School For Girls - piled into the Conrads' van and headed to Target to shop. "They don't celebrate Christmas in China; it's all new to her," Jenny Conrad said, noting that the student, Poppy Shen, was amazed at the size of the family's Thanksgiving turkey. Shen was curious about where the term "Black Friday" came from. "Is is because people have to go out in the dark to shop?" the 15-year-old asked. While the girls joked around and found some bargains, Shen missed out on the typical Black Friday craziness. By early morning at Target, the long lines of the previous night were gone and shoppers strolled the aisles at a leisurely pace. That was fine with the group. "We wanted to give them the experience of what happens - but not too crazy," said Quinn Conrad, 15, a sophomore. "We're not the super adventurous ones," said Ada Hinton, also a Saint Paul's sophomore. But still, the mall, and the possibility of slightly more hustle and bustle, awaited. "There are things you don't need at the moment, but it's on sale," Quinn Conrad said. --Lorraine Mirabella (Baltimore Sun photo by Kenneth K. Lam)